Help Me-Fruits Basket
by missmircea
Summary: "Someone...help me..." The plain youth who holds as much pain and suffering like his relative, Tohru. Minori Honda, despite the name he's actually a man, yet he himself finds it hard to prove to others and to himself that he is such. He often finds himself in situations where he can't protect himself or others, and struggles with inner and outer conflicts.
1. Chapter 1

HEY THERE. This fanfic is based off of the anime, not the manga. Includes sooooome sexual hints kinda sorta. So if you don't like it don't read it, kay? Hope ya'll like it though.

* * *

The start of a new school year.

As much as cliche new school years go, the cherry blossoms were in full bloom and the sky was a clear and beautiful blue.

The young trio walked happily to school.

The day went by and all was well, of course not without the usual fist-fight and loud arguments from Kyo and Yuki.

**Tohru's POV**

We opened the door and Shigure greeted us with his usual warm, "Welcome back," and we all said "We're home" in unison.

"Tohru, can you come here please?" asked Shigure.

"Oh sure."

"Your grandfather called asking if you were here, I told him you'd call him back when you came home from school." he said.

"Oh, okay. I'll call him right now then." I replied.

I dialed the house phone number and waited as it rang.

_"Hello?" _said an old voice.

"Grandpa? Is that you?" I asked.

_"Oh Tohru! Yes, it's me. I was hoping to talk to you earlier, but you were at school."_

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, so what did you want to talk to me about?" I asked pleasantly.

_"I wanted to tell you that your cousin, Minori is staying with us. And if you wanted to visit and catch up for a while." _

"Minori? Oh we haven't seen each other in a long time. Of course I'd like to come over and visit, I'll come on my next day off okay?"

_"We'll be looking forward to it then, see you then Tohru." _he said.

"Okay, bye grandpa!" I said cheerfully.

He hung up the phone and I set the phone down. I sat down at the table with the others with a large smile on my face.

"Well someone looks happy." said Kyo.

"Yes of course! My cousin is living with my grandpa and I'm going to visit on my next day off. I'm really looking forward to it, we haven't seen each other in years." I stated.

"Oh, whats your cousin's name?" asked Yuki.

"Minori, Minori Honda. From dad's side." I answered.

"Wait, isn't that rude family still living with your grandpa?" asked Kyo.

I thought for a moment and nodded. I looked back at when I moved back to the house after the renovations. Even though my aunt and cousins called me a tramp, I didn't hate them. They just misunderstood my situation, and of course I couldn't tell them I was living with members of the Chinese zodiac!

"It'll be alright though, grandpa and Minori will be there so I'll be fine." I shrugged.

"I think that I should go with you just in case." said Yuki.

"Oh, no, you don't have to, I can-"

"Besides, I want to meet your cousin anyways, seeing how you seem to like each other so much." Yuki said with a small smile.

"If he's going, I'm going too!" said Kyo. "I mean, I can't let those stupid people make fun of you again."

I looked at the both of them with a smile.

"Aw, thank you, but-"

"AND DON'T GET THE WRONG IDEA. or..anything." Kyo shouted.

I giggled as Yuki sighed.

I'm really looking forward to meeting Minori, even better yet, introducing Yuki and Kyo.

**4 days later**

We went straight to grandpa's house right after school, when we rang the doorbell grandpa greeted us and asked us to sit down. My aunt and my other cousins left for the day.

"Minori is still at school, I think school just ended, so you'll have to wait a little bit if you don't mind." he said.

"We don't mind." said Yuki.

Grandpa nodded and left the room.

"So what kind of girl is this Minori?" asked Kyo.

"…uh…girl?" I asked. "Oh! Minori isn't a girl-

The door opened slightly and out poked a portion of a head.

"H-hel…lo?" said a soft, timid voice.

"Minori! Welcome back. We didn't here you come in." I said.

The door then opened completely to reveal Minori, the timid, and young man. His eyes were dark and normal, and he was around my height, and his skin was slightly tanner than most because he used to live in the countryside. His hair was a lot like Saki's, long, dark and wavy, despite his long and wavy hair, he was rather plain and normal. I smiled and came toward him with a big hug.

"I haven't seen you in forever!" I said. "You look exactly the same when we were kids."

"Unlike you, you seemed to have changed a lot." he said with a slight smile. "So how's school-"

He paused midway his sentence. He completely froze in my arms. I followed his gaze and saw that he was looking at Kyo and Yuki.

"Oh um, these are my friends, Kyo and Yuki Sohma." I quickly said.

"Yo." said Kyo.

"It's very nice to meet you." said Yuki.

Minori remained frozen.

"I…I…I'm sorry…it's just that I-I-I didn't expect any one else to come and v-v-v-isit." he stuttered.

"I see you're still very shy, but don't worry, they're really nice. I'm actually living with them." I said.

"Oh..is that so? Then I guess…I shouldn't be too…s-s-shy…" he said. Yuki held out his hand.

"Tohru said that she was really excited to meet you, and I suppose curiosity got the best of us, so we just had to come and see as well. I hope it doesn't bother you much." he said.

Minori took his hand and shook it.

"I-I-It's no trouble…it's nice to know that Tohru has such good f-f-f-riends." he replied.

We talked for a good two hours, and Minori was able to open up a little bit to Yuki and Kyo. We caught up with each other, I learned that Minori moved to the city after his parents divorced, his mom wanted to be left alone for a bit to get over the break up, and Minori went to go after his dad, but his dad shut him out too. So Minori decided to stay with grandpa until things settled down. I asked if Minori was sad about it, and if he wanted to talk about it alone, but he said that he didn't mind, that he already knew that at some point they were going to break up sooner or later.

Minori found the arguments that Kyo and Yuki had were interesting and laughed whenever they got into a disagreement.

We hugged each other goodbye afterwards, and I gave him the house number if he ever wanted to call me.

"He seems alright, he looks like a real girl though." said Kyo as we were walking home.

"Mhm, why does he have such long hair?" asked Yuki.

"I guess he finds long hair comforting, he always fiddles with his hair when he's meeting new people. But I like his hair, it's really pretty isn't it?"

"But he's very shy isn't he? He was stuttering a lot when we first me him." said Kyo.

"Yeah…" I said with a slight smile. "But it's surprising though…he opened up really quickly to you two. I guess he likes you a lot if he's laughing like that only after a few hours."

"He seems cool, how old is he anyways?" asked Kyo.

"He's only a year younger than us, so he's probably Momiji's and Haru's age." I answered.

"Too bad he goes to a different school…" said Yuki.

**A while later...**

**Narrator POV**

"Im going out for a bit Minori." said the grandfather.

"Oh…okay."

"I just need to go to the store, so keep watch of the house for me till I get back okay?"

"Okay."

Minori watched as his grandpa left and closed the door behind him, leaving him in the silent house. He sighed and sat down on the couch to watch TV. He didn't really like the show he was watching, but anything to fill the silence, he thought. As he watched he braided his long, thick hair to pass time.

The doorbell rang.

Minori sat up excitedly and quickly walked to the door.

"Welcome back grandpa-" he said.

He caught his sentence. He looked up at the figure before him with fearful eyes. It was his older cousin, Shosuke. Shosuke lifted his glasses with his finger and glared at Minori.

"Do you think I look anything like that old coot?" he asked sternly.

Minori shook his head and then quickly looked at the ground and moved out of the way to let him in.

"I thought…you wouldn't be back until later on…" Minori said quietly.

"What?" he asked loudly. Minori shook his head. "Never mind, hey, I thought that tramp was going to be here."

"She was…she left a while ago." he answered. "I'm going to go…to my room now…"

"Wait a sec." said Shosuke. Shosuke closed the door behind him and quickly grabbed Minori's wrist. "When's that old man coming back?"

"A-any minute now…so please let go…" he answered.

"You know that's a lie." said Shosuke. He tightened his grip around his wrist and Minori clenched his fists. "I saw him leave the house 15 minutes ago and I waited outside for 10 minutes outside, so I know he won't be coming back. any. time. soon."

"You're..hurting…me." Minori cried out softly.

"SHUT UP."

Minori pursed his lips and looked down. Shosuke roughly held Minori's chin with his other hand and then kicked his legs till Minori fell to his knees.

"Please…stop."

"I caught you lying to me. You and that tramp are all the same. Worthless trash." said Shosuke. "I have to deal with trash like you at school. I learn how to deal with worthless crap like you."

Minori closed his eyes shut.

Shosuke hit Minori across the face and threw him against the wall. Minori slid down to the ground in pain.

"And how to dispose of you."

Minori covered his face with his hands to protect himself. Shosuke went up to Minori and sat on his chest.

"I can't…breathe…please…someone…"

Shousuke took Minori's braided hair and slowly unraveled it.

"You're a man and you look just like a girl." he hissed as he took some of Minori's hair in his hand; he then kissed the long hair. "Disgusting."

He put each of his hands right beside each side of Minori's face.

"You…you're suppose to protect people! That's what you're suppose to do! Not..hurt them…" said Minori.

"Shut your trap. I don't wanna hear anything from the likes of you." he said.

Minori felt ashamed, he just wasn't strong enough to push him away, to run out the door and get help. Yet, just like Tohru, Minori know that he couldn't do that anyways, it would cause too much trouble to those around him if he pushed Shousuke away.

He began to cry.

_"What kind of a man am I? A man who can't protect himself…is worthless_." he thought to himself.

He cried even harder as Shousuke pressed his lips against his.

"_But someone…anyone…please…help me."_


	2. Chapter 2

Minori cried in the shower that night. He scrubbed his skin till it was raw and bright red, he couldn't bear to even look at his own body. After his bath he quickly ran inside his room and locked it, he buried himself deep into layers of blankets and pillows. He sighed and tried closing his eyes.

_**knock knock **_

"Mi...no...ri." whispered the horrid voice. Shosuke turned the doorknob and pounded on the door. Minori only covered his ears with his hands, praying that'd he'll go away. After a while he did, Shousuke kicked the door in frustration and left.

_"Just give me call whenever you like okay?" _

Minori replayed Tohru's words in his head over and over. But he felt that he couldn't trouble Tohru right after just reuniting. No, he thought. He'd have to bear with it and try to fight back himself.

But how long could he even last?

Next Morning

Minori woke up at the crack of dawn, he quickly put on his school uniform and went downstairs. He turned on the coffee machine for his aunt, he remembered the stern lecture that he gave her recently about how she liked her coffee and followed her instructions by detail, 2 spoonfuls of sugar and 1 creamer, he repeated in his head. He began cooking the rest of the breakfast, keeping in mind each of his cousin's specific ideals, no onions in the miso, the rice can't too wet or too dry, and the grilled fish can't too well done.

He prepared each plate and table and sighed in relief.

Soon enough the family came down to eat.

His aunt poured the coffee in the sink.

"Minori, this is too sweet, didn't I tell you yesterday how I liked my coffee?" she asked sternly, she turned and made herself her own coffee and then poured the old one down the sink.

Shosuke and his sister, Ami slowly put down their chopsticks.

"The miso tastes bland." said Ami.

Shosuke nodded in agreement and then looked up from his chair to glare at Minori, but then quickly give him a slight sinister grin. Minori hung his head down as they picked at their food and then threw it away. They left the house without saying goodbye, and by that time grandpa got up and went downstairs to eat as well.

Minori prepared his food and grandpa ate every bite with joy. After he ate he smiled at Minori.

"Truly nothing is better than a home cooked meal, don't you think?" grandpa asked cheerfully.

Minori smiled and gave a slight nod. Minori quickly cleaned up the dishes and cleaned the table.

"I'll be off to school then, bye grandpa!" said Minori as he went to the door.

"Have a safe trip!" grandpa said.

When Minori arrived at school he put his shoes in his shoe locker and walked to class.

"Hey look, it's the tranny." he heard someone snicker.

"I hear he doesn't even live with his parents."

"I heard his dad ran out on him and his mom, must have been ashamed of having a gay as his son."

Minori hung his head down and blocked out the noise. He entered his class room and sat at his desk.

_"Just give me call whenever you like okay?"_

_ "Maybe...I should call Tohru...I'll call her __after school and-"_

"Hey, Honda."

Minori looked up from his desk. It was one of his classmates, Narumi.

"Y-yes?" he asked.

"You know that cd you let me borrow?" she asked while leaning on his desk. "I broke it. I hope you don't mind."

_"You...you didn't break it..." he thought._

"**I hope you don't mind. Minori." **she repeated sternly.

"I...don't mind." he replied.

"Great! Thanks." she smirked. She turned away from his desk.

"...you didn't break it..." Minori murmured under his breath.

Narumi quickly spun around and glared at him.

"What did you just say?" she demanded.

"N-nothing..." he quickly stuttered.

Narumi's face contorted into anger and she grabbed Minori's tie and yanked him up to her face.

"You fucking gay. Are you trying to start something?" she asked.

"I-I'm not gay-"

"**Don't say another word! **Or do you want me to cut off all that pretty hair of yours?!" she yelled.

The other classmates in the room jeered her on.

"I-I'm sorry, please..."

She pushed him back from his chair and he clattered to the ground, hitting the back of his head.

"_Disgusting._" she hissed. "You're not even a man, you're a worm."

She huffed as she went back to her desk as the rest of the class booed in disappointment. Minori held the back of his head in pain, the bell rang and the home room teacher came into the class.

"...Is that Minori Honda over there on the floor?" the teacher asked.

The class replied yes.

The teacher sighed "Someone take him to the nurses office alright? I need to start my lesson."

No one volunteered.

"Yuuto, go take him to the nurse."

Yuuto groaned. Minori slowly got up from the floor, Yuuto stood before him with his hands in his pockets.

"Hurry up." he said and he quickly walked out the door.

They walked together in the hallway, but Minori walked a cars-length behind Yuuto. It was silent between the two of them

"You know..." said Yuuto, breaking the silence. "You should really leave this school, you're just a nuisance to everyone."

Minori looked at the ground and nodded. Yuuto left when they arrived at the nurses office.

"Oh, Minori..." said the nurse in sympathy.

"Hi Ms. Hara." he replied weakly.

Ms. Hara got up from her chair and examined the bump on his head.

"Who was it this time?" she asked.

Minori remained silent.

"You know you have to tell me..." she said.

"I-it...won't make a difference, they'll just get angrier."

Ms. Hara sighed and tended to the wound.

"I think you'll need to go home...I'll go call them." she said.

"No!" said Minori.

Ms. Hara looked back in surprise.

"I-I'm sorry...there's no one home now..."

_"I don't want to worry grandpa anymore." _

Minori sat down on the bed his hands clasped together and his back hunched over. Ms. Hara sat next to him, patting his back.

"You're...very nice Ms. Hara...thank you." he said. He felt his eyes watering. Soon enough he was choking on his tears and he buried his face in his hands.

Ms. Hara hugged him tightly.

"Please, let me do something to help you. I can't stand to see you like this anymore..." she said.

Minori breathed heavily.

"I...I have a cousin, Tohru Honda."


	3. Chapter 3

Shigure had gotten a call from a school in the afternoon. He listened intently as the school nurse explained what had happened to Minori. Ms. Hara hung up the phone. Minori looked up at her with curious eyes.

"Your cousin wasn't home, but her guardian, Shigure, was able to pick up the phone. He offered if he could come and get you instead, is that alright?" she asked. He nodded.

"Anything to get me out of here…"

Minori and Ms. Hara waited by the front gates of the school, even from outside of the school Minori could the words that his classmates said about him from inside, he could almost feel their disapproving stares and scorn. He rubbed his head that Ms. Hara had bandaged to keep him mildly preoccupied.

The both of them stood in silence.

"How's your head doing?" Ms. Hara asked.

"It…it doesn't hurt much anymore, thank you." he replied. After a few more minutes Minori looked at Ms. Hara, she was fiddling with her brown hair. "Um…Ms. Hara…"

Ms. Hara turned and looked at Minori.

"Why is it that…that you're so nice to me?" he asked.

"Well…isn't it common sense? To help those in need of help." she stated. Minori nodded, Ms. Hara went up to Minori and petted his head. "You also…remind me of someone who was very close to me." she said with a faint smile.

"Who?"

"My…uh…younger sister." she replied.

_"…s-sister?" _

"Oh I see…" said Minori.

"She passed away a few years ago, suicide you know. She was bullied too." Ms. Hara said in a low and weak voice. "She was pretty, like you too, long hair, big brown eyes…"

"I-I'm sorry to bring it up, I didn't mean to make you think of such sad memories." Minori said.

"No, it's alright, I haven't thought about her in years…but maybe this was the reason why I helped you. To make up for what I didn't do with my sister." Ms. Hara said. In the distance, a figure was walking towards them, Ms. Hara closely looked at the figure. "That must be Shigure, well off you go then," she said. She gave Minori a hug and waved goodbye. "Rest up okay?" Minori nodded as he walked toward Shigure.

"Hey there, I'm Shigure, a friend of Tohru's." greeted Shigure.

"Oh, u-um yes…I'm M-Minori, it's n-nice to meet you." said Minori, slowly extending his hand out. Shigure shook his hand and patted Minori on the back.

"Alrighty then! We best be on our way now, Tohru and the others are still at school, but school will be done in a few hours, so you'll have to sit tight for a while." Minori agreed with his silence.

On the walk home, Shigure curiously eyed Minori, trying to piece together who he really was. Minori was obviously the shy type, very quiet, but not stoic, perhaps a bit clumsy? Shigure thought. Ms. Hara told him that Minori had "tripped down the stairs",but that was not an easy feat, even for the clumsiest of people. When they arrived Shigure gestured Minori inside the house and offered for him to sit at the table.

"I'll get you some ice for your head." Shigure said as he walked into the kitchen. Minori looked at the clock on the wall, it was only 12:15, around the time his school would be for lunch, it was also the time where people would pester him about buying them bread or drinks, or when someone would take his food. Shigure came back into the room with a small bag of ice and handed it to Minori. Shigure then sat down at the seat across from him. He placed the ice on the back of his aching head, when he looked up he saw Shigure staring at him.

"Oh sorry, I was just wondering how you got that injury." said Shigure.

"Oh, um…"

_What did Ms. Hara say to him? I forgot what excuse she used, was it…that I hit my head on the door? Or I hurt myself during PE? I can't remember…. Minori thought to himself. _

"Uh…I-it was during PE, we were playing soccer, and I was the goalie. I h-hit my head on the goal post." Minori lied.

Shigure looked at him questionably. "I see…" he said.

Shigure stretched out his arms and yawned. Minori sighed in relief.

"Funny," Said Shigure. "Strange for someone to fall down the stairs too. Or at least that's what Ms. Hara told me."

"I-I uh…." Minori stuttered, he felt his face grow hot from being nervous.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you really get that head injury, hm? I won't tell anyone else. It will be just between us men." Shigure said.

_"b-between us…men…" _

Minori looked at his thumbs that sat in his lap and then inhaled.

"W-well…" Minori told Shigure the truth. Shigure then continued asking him more questions, to which Minori, to his surprise, answered honestly.

"I-it started around the first week I transferred…" Minori answered.

"Has your grandfather said anything about it?" Minori quickly shook his head. "N-no! I-I don't want to worry grandpa…h-he's done so much for me, a-and I don't want to be more of a b-bother than I already am…" Minori replied.

Shigure chuckled. "I-I'm sorry…it's just that you and Tohru sound a lot alike…" he giggled.

Minori looked at the clock again, it was nearing 3. Although he was glad that Tohru would be coming home, something also creeped into his mind…Shousuke. Minori didn't want to go "home" he couldn't stand another moment in that house. Minori thought about his aunt, his cousin, and Shousuke, Minori also felt ashamed about himself, he couldn't fight for himself, nor could he learn to love his own family.

"Hello? Minori? Are you there?" Shigure asked.

"Oh uh sorry…I uh s-spaced out for a bit…"

"Well that's fine and all, I was just wondering what time do you plan on returning home." Shigure said.

Minori felt a chill go up his spine.

"H-home?" Minori asked again. Shigure nodded. Minori's eyes become dead and cold, the thought of…that house, made him want to scream. But he was too afraid to tell anyone, in fear that…they would laugh at him.

"S-Shigure?" Minori asked. "Y-you don't mind if…if I stay here, j-just for one night…i-if it's not too much trouble."

"Sure, I don't mind, just make sure to call your grandfather though." Shigure replied with a suspicious stare. Minori nodded and he walked towards the phone.

_"Hello?"_ said an old voice.

"Oh, grandpa, u-um…do you mind if…if I stay at a…f-friends house?" Minori asked.

_"I don't really mind, but…won't you need clothes? You also have school tomorrow…."_

"I-I'll still go to school tomorrow…and clothes…?"

_"I'll just ask Shousuke to bring you something."_

"NO!" Minori shouted. Shigure jumped, startled."I-I mean…no…t-that's alright, I'll uh…just…uh…work something out."

His grandpa said reluctantly agreed and said goodbye. Minori hung up the phone.

"Rather loud, aren't we?" asked Shigure.

"I-I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to be so r-rude…"

"No that's quite alright."

The door opened, the both of them could hear Yuki and Kyo's bickering as Tohru greeted them with a "We're home~!"

"Oh, Minori, what are you doing here?" asked Tohru.

"He's going to stay with us, if you all don't mind."

"I don't mind at all! How exciting, we haven't had a sleep over in ages!" Tohru said excitedly. She put down her school bag and took Minori's hands. "You can stay in my room if you want." She said. Minori smiled and nodded.

"Now what was it that you two were fighting about?" asked Shigure.

"Nothing really, Kyo was just complaining about his test scores over mine." casually said Yuki.

"I was not **_complaining!_**" snapped Kyo. Minori giggled to himself, all of a sudden the room became brighter and louder when the three of them entered the room.


	4. Chapter 4

Night came, and Minori enjoyed one of the best dinners of his life, with Tohru and the others, he was amused by their shenanigans and how close everyone was. Kyo broke a bowl and Yuki got frustrated and accidentally threw him into the door. Minori was laid on a bed next to Tohru's, after 30 minutes earlier of debating who should sleep on the bed, Minori won and was able to sleep on the floor. In the darkness Minori looked up at the bed.

"Tohru…a-are you asleep?" he whispered.

"Hm?" Tohru yawned. "Yeah I'm awake, do you need something?"

"Oh no it's fine, I-I uh just wanted some water, but I'll go get it myself." said Minori.

"Okay…" said Tohru as she went back to sleep.

Minori tiptoed downstairs into the kitchen where he poured himself a glass of water. He drank his water outside, looking up at the night sky. Soon he would have to go back…back to his "home." Minori loved being with Tohru and the others, he also loved his grandpa, but he couldn't stand his aunt and cousins. Minori squeezed the shirt that Kyo had lent him.

Looking up at the sky, everything that Minori had ever suppressed came to him all at once. His parents, his mother and father, that house, his disapproving aunt, scornful cousin, perverted Shousuke, his school, his cruel classmates, and unforgiving teachers. He remember and relived all of the hits that he felt, the blow to his head, all of the unwanted touching. Minori clenched his fists, but he squeezed his hands too tight and the water glass broke in his hand. Yet, as the blood streamed down from his hand, he felt nothing. Minori looked at his bleeding hand with contempt. And he began crying. As if all of his feelings were bottled up, they suddenly overflowed. Minori covered his mouth with his clean hand to prevent any sound from coming out. There was a shuffling of footsteps behind him.

"Minori?" Minori froze up, and hid his bloody hand near his chest, covering it with his unwounded one.

"What are you doing up so late?" Shigure asked.

"I-I was just getting some water." he answered.

Shigure saw the shattered glass glimmering on the ground.

"Why are you outside then?" he asked.

"I-I thought I saw something outside…" Minori answered. "I'll…be going back upstairs…"

"Minori, there's broken glass on the ground, you're hand is bleeding, and you're crying." Shigure stated.

Minori turned and looked at Shigure with desperate eyes.

"I'm sorry…I-I'll go clean up the glass."

"No it's fine, just sit down while I go get the first aid kit." Said Shigure.

Shigure mended Minori's hand at the table, where they both sat in silence.

"Now, then…why don't you tell me what really is going on." said Shigure.

"The glass slipped out of my hand, a-and I was trying to pick it up b-but got cut, a-and-"

Shigure pressed the gauze down hard on Minori's hand, he winced in pain.

"_The truth,_ Minori." Shigure restated.

Minori couldn't speak, he stared as Shigure was fixing his hand for a while longer before answering,

"I've been robbed."

"You've been robbed?" repeated Shigure.

Minori nodded, he felt his heart beat faster, he knew that he was going to say the truth, The **whole** truth.

"I-I've been robbed of my worth, my identity, my virginity, and my dignity." He finally answered. "I don't have much left."

Minori looked down at the floor as Shigure looked at him with wide eyes.

"A-At school…my classmates hate me, and the teachers…they d-don't care," he continued. "They either ignore me or hurt me, they call me…such..c-cruel names." Shigure dared not to move a muscle. "I-I'm not safe at….a-at "home" either. W-when grandpa isn't home…"**he**"…h-he does things. He calls me names and threatens me, he touches me and hurts me…a-and…."

Minori was crying again.

"A-and..and…I'm not even sure that…that I even deserve to be a man." he said.

Minori looked up at Shigure, Minori's tear stained face surprised him for a moment.

"P-please…don't make me go back there Shigure, p-please…just for a while longer…then I'll leave when it gets better…"

"No one is going to make you go back anywhere." Shigure said. "You will stay here as long as you like. I'll talk to your grandfather, I won't saying anything, but I'll try to see if you can live here from now on, and I'll try to enroll you somewhere else."

"R-really?" Minori asked. Shigure sighed and nodded.

"You know at first I thought you were some clumsy shy kid, but now…it seems like you'll be a real handful." Shigure sighed.

"I-I'm sorry!"

Shigure grinned.

"No it's fine, just try to put in a good word with the beautiful Ms. Hara, and I think we can call it even."

Minori smiled. "Sure."

That next morning Shigure let Minori stay inside, he had told the others that Minori has cut himself while picking up broken glass.

"I called you grandfather, he says that you can stay, and he would deal with your transfer himself, I just need to go get your things from school." said Shigure. "Can you keep watch of the house while I'm gone? Tohru and the others will come right home when school is over."

Minori nodded and waved goodbye. He was alone. Minori felt happy though, it was a peaceful loneliness, because he knew that people would be back for him. He did some chores here and there, washing the dishes and drying the laundry. Most of the time he sat outside drinking tea, watching clouds pass by from the shade.

He felt at peace.

"_Hello there._" A dark figure appeared out of the shadows. It was a young man with dark hair and eyes. Minori quickly stood up in alarm. "Don't be afraid, my name is Akito, I know Shigure and the others."

"I-I think I should be going…" said Minori, he turned his back toward Akito as he quickly ran back to the house.

"You know…this won't last forever." said Akito. Minori spun around and looked back. "You'll be pulled back into the darkness, you'll be alone and hated again."

"I-I think y-you should go too…" sternly stuttered Minori. Akito shrugged.

"I suppose, I only came to tell you the truth. Goodbye then." Akito disappeared as quickly as he had came.

Minori could still feel the chill crawling up his spine as he ran back inside. As the day passed school had ended and Tohru and the others were walking home.

"So can someone tell me why these two are coming with us?" asked Kyo, referring to Momiji and Hatsuharu.

"Aw, don't get all angry, we just wanted to meet Tohru's cousin!" cheerfully answered Momiji.

"Besides, from what you said about him transferring schools, it's most likely that'd he'd go to our school." added Haru.

Kyo huffed in annoyance.

"It's nice of them to drop by anyways, I think Minori wants to make new friends." said Yuki.

When the five of them arrived at the house they knocked on the door. Minori peeked through a small sliver of the door with caution, and then opened the door widely.

"We're home!" cheerfully said Tohru.

"Ah…welcome back," smiled Minori. He looked at the two people next to Kyo, one had black and white hair, while the other and bright blonde hair, Minori was used to strange hair colors, but these two were especially strange. "W-Who's this? I-If you don't mind me asking."

As they entered the house Yuki gave him a quick introduction.

"This is Hatsuharu and Momiji Sohma, they're our cousins as well. They also might be your classmates when you transfer."

"Hello!" greet Momiji.

"Hi." said Haru.

"O-oh, i-it's v-very nice to meet you." said Minori with a slight bow of his head.

"Where's Shigure?" asked Tohru.

Minori chuckled slightly.

"W-well, he went out to get my things from school, b-but ended up eating out with the school nurse," he answered. "He called me earlier."

Kyo and Yuki sighed.

"I''l go get drinks for everyone." said Tohru as she walked into the kitchen.

"I-I'll help you too." said Minori.

"No it's alright, I can do it." cheerfully said Tohru.

"O-oh, but please, I-I would like to help you as w-well." said Minori.

"It's fine really!"

"O-oh, but I insist!"

The boys laughed as Tohru and Minori politely argued with each other about serving drinks.

"Just sit down, it's fine, I'll help her." said Kyo as he got up from the table. Minori reluctantly nodded and sat down.

"Wow, I guess you and Tohru really are cousins!" said Momiji.

"I-I didn't mean to make such a f-fuss…" embarrassingly stated Minori.

As time passed everyone was having a good time, laughing and telling funny stories. The occasional argument, and Minori even found out about, "Black Haru." However, one thought creeped into Minori's mind…Akito, it was a strange meeting, and he was curious to know who he is.

"Who is Akito?" casually asked Minori.

Everyone froze. Their wide eyes frightened Minori, and no one spoke.

"H-He uh….came by earlier…when everyone w-was gone. I-I only talked to him for a l-little bit, I was just wondering…" he stammered.

The door suddenly opened and a smiling Shigure walked through the door. He paused when he walked in and saw everyone with blank stares.

"What's with the heavy atmosphere?" he asked. Minori looked up in confusion.

"He met Akito." answered Yuki. Kyo clenched his jaw.

"I-I'm sorry…I-I didn't know, I-I just thought that, y-you knew him and-"

"Oh we know him alright," said Shigure, he faced Minori with a plastic smile. "But it's nothing you need to worry your little head about, you should all get some rest, you all have school tomorrow! And Minori you have your first new day at school as well with the others."

Minori nodded slightly. Shigure shooed Haru and Momiji outside, and everyone left without saying goodbye, Tohru and Minori went upstairs to get ready for bed; no one was hungry that night. Yuki and Kyo stayed at the table, staring at Shigure.

"Well I was planning on telling Akito after we got Minori settled in, but…I guess there's no need for that now." sighed Shigure.

"That damn Akito…" hissed Kyo.

"Now, now, there's no need for that, I doubt that he'll come back again." said Shigure.

Yuki stared at the table with fear, looking back at the torture he had endured in the past. Shigure scratched his chin for a moment.

"But why…why would he come here, just to meet Minori?" asked Yuki in a low voice.

_"Should I tell them about Minori? What **really** happened to him…?"_ thought Shigure.

"Boys…" said Shigure. "I think it's best if you keep an eye on Minori. Akito might be planning something."

"But why Minori? He's just some shy kid." said Kyo.

"Well…Minori is…very…vulnerable." answered Shigure.

"Vulnerable?" asked Yuki.

"I'm not allowed to say it but, Minori has also experience some…"things" as well." said Shigure. "In time, I suppose, if he wishes to tell you, he will."

"So what now?" asked Kyo.

"So for now…I need to keep a close on him and Tohru, just to be safe."

Kyo and Yuki nodded in agreement.

That very next morning Tohru and Minori were racing downstairs.

"Oh no! I can't believe we woke up late!" cried Tohru.

"I'm sorry! I didn't hear the alarm!" cried Minori.

"Oh no it's alright, I didn't hear it either to wake you!"

Kyo waited impatiently for them at the bottom of the stairs holding some fruit and some toast.

"Hurry up you two, you'll have to eat on the run." said Kyo.

"Oh we're going to be late!" said Tohru.

As Minori went faster, his sock caught onto a loose piece of wood on the stairs. He quickly found himself tumbling down the steps.

"Minori!" exclaimed Tohru and Kyo.

Kyo extended his arms to catch him and Tohru leaped forward to grab him.

"_No wait, don't jump to him!_" shouted Kyo.

Tohru caught the back of Minori's collar and Kyo had grabbed his hands, as gravity pulled everyone to the ground, Minori landed in Kyo's arms. Yet, by instinct, Kyo had also caught Tohru. The dazed Minori saw a puff of smoke and heard a screeching meow.

**"DAMMIT."**


End file.
